The Jade Boy (10 page)

Four of the servants who had stayed behind to mind Ludlow House had unwisely visited family in the narrow, fetid streets of the city and never returned. Little Simeon the pot boy had lost both
his parents, which was why Jem always looked out for him.

When the worst of the sickness was over and the household returned from Pridhow, one of the younger footmen who had stayed on in London took great pleasure in describing the sight of the plague carts that rolled past the windows of Ludlow House.

“Piled with corpses they was – sometimes stacked seven or eight deep. And the stench! You’ve never smelled the like of it. But d’ya know what the worst thing was, Jemmy boy?”

Jem had swallowed and shaken his head. “The very worst thing of all was that some of ’em was still a-twitchin’ and a-moanin’.”

Jem looked across at Tolly, but his friend’s eyes were closed to Jem’s thoughts as he concentrated on the room below.

From below, a leaden voice cut into Cazalon’s speech. It was Avebury.

“Who can assure us that the plague will not return this year?” he asked, although it was more like a statement. The heavy voice continued.

“The streets are a stinking disgrace and the poor who infest the city are like vermin. They and their diseased houses should be wiped from the face of the
earth so that we may build a new and godly city in the place of this swamp of sin.”

“A new Thebes,” said Cazalon softly. Tolly’s eyes snapped open and he stared at Ann.

She nodded, whispering, “You’re right, Tolly, the ancient city of Thebes…” Then she looked at Jem and added, “The library at Malfurneaux Place is full of manuscripts from this place, but we can’t work out why it is so important to him…”

“Steady now.”

This was clearly Alderman Pinchbeck, his tone was stronger and less respectful. “You say that London must be cleansed and built anew. That’s all very well, but how can this be? The plague didn’t kill everyone. What will you do with the citizens, magic them away?” The alderman snorted.

“I cannot invest in a whimsy. I’m sure your plans are very pretty, my lord, but how can we build a new city here when one already stands beside the Thames? Answer me that.”

There was a long silence and then Cazalon spoke.

“I believe that an element of…
sacrifice
will be necessary to help us achieve our vision.”

The rustling noise from below indicated that Cazalon was moving away from the fireplace.
Then his voice came again, more distantly, but still audible.

“Look at my plans, gentlemen. Do you not marvel at the beautiful city that London will become?”

There was a crackling sound as if stiff parchment was being unfurled.

Cazalon spoke again.

“Here, Lord Avebury, is a magnificent square that will bear your name. George, this sweeping and generous avenue at the heart of our new London shall be Bellingdon Street, and we will build you a fine new house just here. Kilheron, do you mark that grand crescent? It is yours.

“And finally, Alderman Pinchbeck, I have set aside a park for you.”

There was a general murmur from below. The men were examining the plans.

“And what is this?” The weedy piping voice belonged to Kilheron.

“That is the new cathedral’ Cazalon replied casually.

There was a pause and then Kilheron continued, “But it is the most extraordinary shape, sir. Why, it looks like a star. Yes, that’s it – a star with five points. I’ve never seen a church like that before.”

Cazalon’s reply was smooth and measured. “Gentlemen, this is a new London. We shall be the masters here, free to create whatever we like – to build to the limits of our imagination and beyond. We shall create a phoenix from the ashes.”

“Do you mean to burn the old city to the ground? What about the people?”

This was Pinchbeck. He sounded outraged.

Cazalon’s reply was chilling. “How else are we to achieve our goal? Have we not already agreed that the poor and their contaminated buildings must make way for our wonderful city? One great fire will purge London and clear the ground.”

“But what of the king?” demanded Kilheron. “It is his city. This is madness. Indeed, sirs, it is treason.”

There was a long silence below as Kilheron’s words hung in the air.

Then Cazalon began to speak again and Jem noticed that his voice had taken on a quality that was almost rhythmic, like a chant.

“George, Duke of Bellingdon, as the founder of the company that will build our new city, you will become one of the greatest and richest men of the realm, rich enough to buy any beautiful object or trinket that you desire… Matthew, Marquis of
Kilheron, after we have reduced old London to a pile of smoking cinders, you will reveal our brilliant designs to the king. His new city will be the envy of every monarch and he will be grateful. You will be known far and wide as his most loyal and trusted servant, not to mention one of his closest and dearest friends at court… Edward, Lord Avebury, you will be praised as a great and saintly benefactor to the poor. The new, purified city that your money will help us build anew will be renowned as the most perfect and godly place in Europe.”

There was silence below and then Alderman Pinchbeck spoke.

“And what’s in it for me? Burning down the city doesn’t make good business sense. That’s what I say. What could possibly be in it for me?”

Cazalon answered, slowly and deliberately, as if talking to a small child.

“My dear friend, I urge you to take a moment to weigh up the advantages here. When old London and its filthy streets are purged, to whom will the king turn…? Why, he will need men about him who have a plan. Men who are quick and clever, and ready to invest. There is a great opportunity here for those who are prepared. And fortunes to be made
as a new city rises from the ash. It makes
perfect
business sense, Alderman.”

Kilheron cut in eagerly.

“Indeed, I see now this is no treason. For we shall build a new London to the
glory
of His Majesty. A city that is at last fit for our most gracious monarch.”

“A city where the ungodly and the corrupt shall find no sanctuary.”

The dreary, ponderous voice was Avebury’s.

“A city where you shall be
enobled
, Alderman. You shall choose any title you like and pass it on to your line.”

This last was Cazalon.

There was another long pause in the room below. Then the sound of footsteps and the rustle of paper. After a moment, Alderman Pinchbeck spoke again.

“And this park here will be named after me?”

Struggling to contain his disgust, Jem looked at Tolly and Ann. The girl’s eyes were huge in the shadows.

Unable to stop himself, Jem gripped Tolly’s arm. The other boy’s eyes snapped open.

“These men want to murder people,” Jem hissed. “We have to find a way to stop them.”

Tolly put his finger to his lips and shook his head violently.

Suddenly there was a crackling noise directly beneath them and Cleo leapt from Ann’s lap to Tolly’s shoulder.

A voice echoed in the chimney. “I hope you don’t mind, George. You know how, after my travels, I am most susceptible to cold. I have lit the fire. Why look, it is blazing… like old London will.” The voice was Cazalon’s.

Thick black smoke began to rise through the vent at the back of the fireplace.

Cleo made little gasping noises and buried her head in Ann’s lap. The children covered their mouths and noses with their hands and stumbled out of the fireplace and into the room.

As they struggled for breath, they sat down on the heavily draped four-poster. A cloud of dust rose into the air from the velvet coverlet, which made them cough even more.

“Do you think he knew we were there?” wheezed Jem.

“I’m not sure.” Ann’s eyes were streaming. “It’s possible he might have heard you speaking just now. He is sensitive to the smallest of sounds… But it’s also true that he is a cold soul and could have simply wanted the fire lit. As he told the duke, he lived abroad for many years before returning to Europe.”

Tolly stroked Cleo’s head. The monkey’s
button-black
eyes were watering and her shoulders were heaving as her tiny lungs battled to clear the smoke.

“Where is the count actually from?” asked Jem.

The other children exchanged grim looks before Ann answered.

“We don’t know. I don’t think anyone does. His title is a very old one. He has estates in the far southwest of France. But in all the days since he became my guardian, he has never gone there.”

Jem scowled.

“Well, I wish he was there now. I wish he was a thousand miles away. I can’t quite believe what we’ve just heard. They were plotting the destruction of London as if they were discussing a business transaction.”

“That’s what it is to them,” said Tolly.

Jem shook his head.

“No. That can’t be right. The duke is a vain, greedy man, but I’ve never thought of him as evil. And Alderman Pinchbeck, too – he was worried about the people, at least to start with. Listening to them just now, it was almost as if they were all under a spell – as if Cazalon had blinded them to reality.”

“But that’s exactly what was happening!” said Ann excitedly. “Remember the way he spoke to them. It sounded more like a chant, didn’t it? He was using a rhythm charm to shape the pattern of their thoughts.
I’ve read about them. They only work if the person listening is already open to the suggestions being made. Now, what else did the book say…?”

She looked up into the dark canopy overhead and her forehead wrinkled.

“Ah! I have it!
“To charm a thought as if it were a serpent you must unlock desire. Find the key to a man’s soul before you turn it to your will.”’

Tolly grinned at Jem.

“She’s good, isn’t she? She remembers every word she reads. It’s amazing!”

Ann ignored him. “Don’t you see? He found their weaknesses and tempted them. That’s why they all fell under his spell. The duke is greedy, Kilheron wants to be the king’s greatest friend, Avebury wants to be famous as a pious benefactor and Pinchbeck is desperate to be a nobleman.”

She shook her head. “It is totally ingenious!”

“And totally evil,” said Jem.

The children sat in silence for a moment before Jem spoke again. “I’ll admit, I was scared of Cazalon before today. But now it sounds as if everyone in London should fear him too.”

Tolly shifted on the coverlet. “Jem’s right. We must tell someone. This is too big and too dangerous.”

“You won’t want to hear this again,” said Ann quietly as she stroked Cleo’s rounded back, “but I still believe that you are at the heart of all this, Jem. My guardian is obsessed by you. You are the
jade boy
and the key to Cazalon’s plans, not those spellbound fools.”

“There you go again with this jade boy business,” said Jem, infuriated. “How can you be so sure of any of this? What do you know that you’re not telling me? If my life is in danger – along with everyone else’s, I might add – then we have to tell someone and make it all stop, now.”

Ann rolled her eyes. “And who would we tell? Who would believe our word against some of the greatest lords in the land, Jem? Think – who could we go to? Who would believe that the daughter of an executed witch, a mute servant, a kitchen boy and a monkey have discovered a plot to destroy all of London?”

She was silent for a second and then started to undo the ties of one ragged lace cuff. She rolled the loose fabric back up to her elbow and showed Jem the underside of her thin white arm. He gasped in horror.

Ann’s delicate skin was criss-crossed by a series of deep scars – some old and healed, some fresh,
livid and crusted with blood. When she looked up again, her eyes were full of fear and pain.

“
This
is how I can be sure that my guardian is obsessed by you, Jem. When he took me in it was not just because he wanted the books belonging to my family and not just because I was a prize to add to his collection.” She gave a deep sigh. “He wanted me because I am the only living link to my mother. She was the last fully initiated witch from a magical bloodline that stretches back for hundreds of years. My guardian can communicate with her and is forcing her to give up her secrets.”

Jem dragged his eyes away from the vicious scars. He was struggling to make sense of Ann’s words.

“But Tolly said your mother is d… d… That she had died?”

Ann nodded. “Cazalon is able to talk to her in the dead lands by building the blood bridge. It is one of the most dangerous and darkest acts of old magic. Only a madman would attempt it. They say that each time you cross the bridge you leave a fragment of your soul behind. He uses my blood to make the bridge, Jem.”

“But what happens? What does he… How…?”

Jem looked from Tolly to Ann and faltered.
The world had grown darker than he had ever imagined possible.

Ann smiled bleakly. “I am glad to say that I remember very little from the times it happens. But often, afterwards, I hear the echo of my mother’s voice. Her words are faint, like the furthest ripples on the surface of a pond when you’ve thrown a pebble, but she always says the same thing…
You must seek the boy of Jade
.”

“And that’s how you knew about me?” asked Jem.

Ann nodded again. “Cazalon must have heard it too, and more besides – she has to tell him what she knows because he has me in his power. But I know those seven words were meant for me. And now, we’ve found you.”

“Unfortunately, Cazalon has too,” added Tolly.

Suddenly Cleo leapt into the air and clung to one of the bed hangings. Chattering with fright, she scrambled up into the gloomy fabric canopy above.

“Someone is coming,” whispered Tolly.

Jem thought fast and reached out to the heavy curtains around the bed, pulling them tight shut so that the children were enveloped in a velvet box thick with musty dimness. Immediately Tolly started to tremble.

“I– I can’t breathe,” he stammered. His eyes were huge in the gloom.

“It’s fine, Tolly. You are safe. We are here.” Ann said soothingly, and reached over to take the frightened boy’s hand. “It’s the confined space, Jem,” she whispered. “Tolly told you about the barge?”

Ann squeezed Tolly’s hand.

“I can’t be found here. Jem, look after him. Both of you, shield your eyes.”

Jem was aware of a now-familiar pulsing in the air. He closed his eyes and looked away as Ann transformed – then quickly bent forward to scoop up the little jewelled scarab beetle. As Jem slipped the beetle into his pocket, the bed curtains were ripped apart.